Updates in Ukraine and in the ministry

Right now there is so much going on.  From what I have read, there is a lot of Russians being bused into eastern Ukrainian cities to start problems to give Russia a reason to come in and invade.  That's how all that got started in Crimea.  They want Ukraine, or at least the eastern part of it.  Russian news agencies, even the one's in the US are falsely reporting what is truly going on in Ukraine.  And  of course the US is no longer a treat to Putin because Obama told him they would not get the US military involved.  REALLY Obama???  Oh my, I'm just glad I never voted him into office!!!

I'm praying for Ukraine!

From the way it looks, as soon as all the "false Ukrainians" start calling in for Russia to help them, Russia will be invading eastern Ukraine.  (Unless God intervenes) It will turn out just like it did in Crimea.  If you look at The Republic of Georgia, you will see that the non-Russian ruled areas are more prosperous than the Russian ruled areas.  Russia annexing southern and eastern Ukraine will not help them, it will hurt them. 

Not sure where this leaves us as missionaries.  Will we eventually be able to go in to Kharkov??  Not sure.  We are earnestly praying that the Lord would help us to have discernment in what to do and where to go.  The O'Brien family is currently in a western Ukrainian town of Zhitomir.  They may be helping to start a work in the eastern part of town.  There are many deaf in that area with no deaf ministry.  Please help us to pray about this situation.  We what to be where God what's us to be.  It seems churches do not want to commit to supporting us because of what's going on in Ukraine.  They want to see if we are still going or not.  As long as there is not war and if it is safe for us, we will go.  There are still many missionaries in Ukraine that have not left.  Even if it means going to Western Ukraine to begin with, that may be what we will do.  We are just waiting on the Lord!  Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

What a Blessing

What a busy and anxiety feel couple of days.  We started this last trip in Indiana in which I will talk about more later, then on to Ohio, and now we are in Pennsylvania.  It is cold here in Greenville.  Our main mission this week was for Brian, Briana, and I to get some dental work done. Brian needed fillings, I needed a pre-crown tooth pulled and some fillings, and poor Briana needed to get her wisdom teeth cut out.  You probably asking why we would come to PA to have this done instead of at home.  We were introduced to a dentist who gives missionaries free dental work.  I will not mention his name for the pure fact that there are missionaries that would take advantage of his kindness, and there already has been some that have. 

 

On Tuesday, we took Briana to get her wisdom teeth cut out.  I know she was very nervous about the whole procedure, I wish I could have went back there with her, but I guess with her being 20 years old that she could handle it.  When she came out of the anesthesia, she was crying and shaking, not something that you want to see your child doing when you go to sit with them during recovery.  They told me that was normal.  She tried talking to me, but I couldn't understand her with all the gauze in her mouth.  If she was talking out of her head, it's a good thing I couldn't understand her, because I would have noted it and told her children about it...lol...anyway...she did great, PTL!!!  Only a little discomfort, until this afternoon.  I tried to get her to stay home from church, but she insisted on going.  About the end of the service, she started hurting a lot and got very pale.  I checked her when we got back and she was running a low-grade temperature and really in a lot of pain.  Couldn't figure out why, because we had been very careful to keep up her pain meds. But praise the Lord, she started to feel some better and was able to go to sleep. 

So now, I am a little more relaxed than I was.  With all that has been going on in Ukraine and with the boys having colds, and bleeding noses, and Briana in pain, my anxieties were having anxieties again.  It's very hard to even think about sleep with all this going on!  But I am so thankful to Pastor Troyer, his wife and family for there kindness to us in letting us stay with them during this time.  What a blessing.

As I mentioned before, we started our northern mini-vaca (LOL) in Indiana... the meeting there went absolutely wonderful.  I praise God that He was able to use us as we ministered in song during the service.  The Pastor told us it really helped him.  What a blessing.  The Lord so moved in the services the Pastor didn't even preach!  Wow, I'm also so thankful for when the Lord shows up and show off :)  It's also a blessing and encouragement when the Lord uses us as we try to use our talents for His glory!!!

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EuroMaidan is spreading....

UPDATE:  3/13/2014, 8:55

This article from the Kyiv Post summarizes the situation in Ukraine. 

****Please continue to pray for the missionaries in Ukraine!!****

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Parubiy is warning that he has “every reason to believe” that Russian forces along Ukraine’s southern and eastern borders will invade.
“Ukraine now faces the threat of a full-scale invasion,” Parubiy said at a press conference on March 12.
He said that Ukraine would rely on military, police and a newly formed National Guard of 20,000 volunteers to protect is borders.
Parubiy estimates that more than 80,000 Russian troops have amassed along the Ukrainian border, along with as many as 270 tanks, 180 armored combat vehicles, 380 pieces of artillery, 18 rocket launchers, 140 combat aircraft, 90 military helicopters and 19 combat boats and ships.
Although the Russian government had promised to withdraw its troops conducting military drills near Ukraine’s borders, Parubiy said that the number of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border has actually increased in recent days.
On Feb. 27, Russia invaded Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a peninsula that juts out from continental Ukraine into the Black Sea. Since then, the number of Russian troops in Crimea has steadily increased, giving the Kremlin full military control of the entire peninsula.
He said that Ukraine’s Interior Ministry is seeing the first traces of the Russian incursion into continental Ukraine: In the early hours of the morning on March 12, the Security Service of Ukraine apprehended several people in southern Kherson Oblast who were conducting “investigative intelligence activity.” Their leader was a citizen of the Russian Federation traveling under a stolen Ukrainian passport. After being arrested, he admitted that he traveled to Kherson to collect intelligence information, including the location of Ukrainian troops.
On March 11, the Security Service of Ukraine said investigators detained a Russian saboteur in the Donetsk region and accused him of preparing explosives and planning other acts of diversion.
Parubiy characterized the agitators as “special forces” who are members of the most “elite ranks of the Russian army.” In addition to trained military personnel, Parubiy counted professional actors among the agitators who have infiltrated Ukraine, saying that they had been hired to make the sabotage more convincing. He said that agitators have even infiltrated some of the many self-defense groups that have formed on Kyiv’s Independence Square.
Parubiy announced that Ukraine’s Border Service prevented 3,700 Russian citizens from entering the country under suspicion that they were sent to carry out “extremist activity.”
He noted that provocations are most likely to occur in the Kherson, Odessa, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, saying that Kherson and Odessa are subject to subversive activity because of their proximity to the Russian-backed breakaway state of Transnistria. Luhansk and Donetsk share long stretches of border with Russia.
Parubiy announced that the National Security and Defense Council on March 13 will submit a law to parliament establishing a Ukrainian National Guard in response to security threats in the south and east. The National Guard will protect Ukraine’s borders, work to ensure domestic security, and prevent terrorist activity, broadening “the functions…of the current Ministry of the Interior troops.”
Parubiy said that the National Guard will enroll 20,000 volunteers from around the country, who will begin training on March 13.  Many of these will be conscripted from the self-defense forces that defended Independence Square from riot police officers for months: “We call upon all the groups that were on the Maidan” to defend Ukraine.
On March 13, the National Security and Defense Council will also submit a bill to the Verkhovna Rada calling for the armed forces to be mobilized.
Parubiy’s announcement comes after acting President Oleksandr Turchynov expressed concern about the current state of the Ukrainian military on March 11, saying that it had only about 6,000 combat-ready infantry.
Although many believe that Ukraine would be powerless to stop a Russian attack on its eastern border, Parubiy said that Ukrainian “units are now placed in such a way that we can repel an attack from any direction.”
Parubiy also used the press conference to remind the United States and the United Kingdom of their obligations as guarantors of Ukraine’s security, according to the terms of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum under which Ukraine forfeited its nuclear arsenal in return for security assurances. The West has been reluctant to intervene militarily to stop aggression and few believe that Europe and the U.S. will risk war with Russia to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Kyiv Post staff writer Isaac Webb can be reached at isaac.d.webb@gmail.com or on Twitter @isaacdwebb

UPDATE: 3/8/2014, 4:41

It has been almost a week since I last gave an update of the situation in Ukraine.  I will try to summarize it the best that I can.

From what I have read, the EU has promised to give 15 billion to Ukraine, that adds to the 1 billion that the US has promised to give.  This is to help build the new government. 

 UPDATE: 3/3/2014, 9:41 pm

It was reported 10 hours ago, that Russian forces have given Ukrainian forces in Crimea till 5 am (in 15 mins) to surrender or face military "storm". 

What will Russia do?  Is this the beginning of WWIII?  Is God setting everything up for the tribulation?  Maybe this is God's plan.  God allowed every war that has happen through time.  The Revolutionary War in the US brought us a country that wanted freedom... the Civil War brought together a united country (one that would be stronger united than divided.  A strong powerful country to back His people Israel).  Different wars to prevent the spread of communism like, Korea, Vietnam, and WWII.  But maybe God is preparing something greater.  I don't want to see war happening, but many times God used wars and battles in scriptures to make things line up just as He would have them to be. 

I am expecting Russia to either overtake the eastern side of Ukraine as their own (just like in Georgia), or go full force and go all the way to Kiev.  I believe if they try to take Kiev that the US and EU will intervene....but will that be enough to overtake Russia? 

My prayer for Ukraine is that God will have mercy on them.  They need Jesus.  They still need light and I pray that God would keep Ukraine open to the gospel and not take the light away.  There are missionaries that are fleeing there homes and churches for safer places in Ukraine, or even in a boarding EU country.  The missionary's need you to pray for there safety, that God would just cover them with His protecting had and give them grace and peace during this time!!!

UPDATE:  3/1/2014, 5:45pm

What has been feared in Kharkov, Ukraine has now come to pass...though no news of Russian solders in Kharkov has been told...the pro-Russian activist are getting brutal.  So far only one death has been reported and about 150 injured. 


Crimea in southern Ukraine has completely been seized by Russians, even the internet and phones have been dominated.  A missionary in that area tells of all Russian flags flying in the city.

Above is a picture showing where there are Russian troops....the whole peninsula of Crimea has been taken.  There are missionary families there!  There have been Russian troops reported in the city where the middle arrow is pointing to Zaporizhzhya.  Then there is the arrow on top pointing to Kharkov.

Prayers are needed for missionaries in these areas, some can't escape their current situation, and we need to pray protection over them!!  Some may need to flee the cities there in, please pray protection over them as they travel!!!!!!!

Another Video of happenings in Kharkov...



UPDATE: 2/28/14, 1:17 pm

Seems Russia is saying they are going to stay out of Ukraine, but their actions are showing something different....

CBS News Clip


Fox News Links

Ukraine accuses Russia of 'military invasion' as gunmen seize airports

Russian military 'combat ready' as tensions grow in Ukraine


UPDATE: 2/27/2014, 3:46 pm

UPDATE: 2/27/2014, 1:30 pm

We'll it seems for the last week... a lot of the action has been in Crimea, in the southern part of the country.  Crimea is part of Ukraine, but a separate entity, almost like Washington DC here in the states.  There are may pro-Russian supporters there.

According to The Guardian.com,
"Dozens of pro-Russia gunmen have seized government buildings in Ukraine’s Crimea region, which houses Russia’s Black Sea fleet, and hoisted a Russian flag. They have also put up a sign saying “‘Crimea is Russia”. A flash grenade was thrown in response to a question from a journalist but it is believed no one has been injured. "  After this quote, they realized that 2 people had died and many injured.  they currently have the entrance to Crimea block so no one can get and no one can get out! 

The Guardian.com Live continues Upates on happenings in Crimea

There is also a lot of talk about Russia preparing troops in and around Ukraine, putting them on stand by for war games....war games????

EuroMaidan is spreading...

Police are making sure things stay under control and no one gets hurt!

EuroMaidan has spread to Kharkov, Ukraine. If this city sounds familiar, it's because this is the city in which we will be working.  You have the Maidan protesters on one side, taken over the main government building.  Then you have the communist pro-Russia party surrounding the statue of Lenin to protect it.  Remember, Lenin was a communist to the highest degree, and his statue is a constant reminder of the former communist Ukraine.  Because of the freedom sensed from the "revolution" in Kiev, it's spreading to Kharkov, Simferopol, Donetsk, and other cities all around Ukraine. 

Communist party gathered around the statue of Lenin in Freedom Square.

Banner says, "Hail to the Soviet Army"



Bro. O'Brien, our ministry partner in Ukraine, at the main government buildings with his son Steven. They were delivering food and medical supplies.  Steven posted on his Facebook that all is peaceful and they were impressed with the orderliness of it all right now.  But they (the people) were preparing for the worst. 

Please continue to pray for Ukraine.  Many victories have been won, but pray that Kharkov does not turn into another Kiev.  Pray that Russia does get involved or send troops or police to "help" the situation.  Pray for a peaceful transition....

A big thank you to Steven O'Brien for the pictures :)

More pictures of EuroMaidan in Kharkov!!!

I will continue to update you on happenings in Kharkov in comments below.

Victory in Ukraine....but not completely....

Former boxer Vitali Klitschko (L), head of the Udar (Punch) party, speaks to the media, center is the head of the Batkivshchyna party Arseniy Yatsenyuk (C) and German Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier

So much has transpired over the last 24 hours in Ukraine.  But PTL many victories have been won for Ukraine.  Yesterday, "Opposition leaders (Klitschko and Yatsenyuk) signed an agreement with President Viktor F. Yanukovych on Friday to try to defuse a deepening political crisis that has left scores of protesters and security officers dead and hundreds wounded in Kiev." ~ New York Post.  100 dead and over 1500 wounded men, women, and children.  Both sides want peace, but this did not satisfy the protesters...they had a list of demands and they were not going to leave until they were all met.  One of them was that the parliament start impeachment proceedings against President Yanukovych and one other was that ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko be released from prison (in Kharkov), where she has been for the last 2 1/2 years.  Also that the 2004 constitution be reinstated.  All of these things and more have been meet.  The parliament voted 328-0 to impeach Yanukovych.  Funny thing was, Yanukovych was no where to be found.  It was rumored that he was fled to Russia, but it was confirmed today that he flew to Donetsk.  He tried to fly to Russia, but the boarder guards would not let his plane leave on Saturday due to lack of required documents.

Thank You Steven O'Brien for the picture!

Mean while, late Saturday night, Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison and flown to Kiev to speak to all those waiting at Independence Square.  Here is what she said to them below....

 

Editor’s Note: More than 100,000 people packed Kyiv’s Independence Square to celebrate the impeachment of President Viktor Yanukovych and the freedom of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who got released from a prison hospital in Kharkiv and spoke to the crowd. People chanted “Yulia!” and “Heroes do not die!” Most listened attentively, but a few of her detractors smirked. The speech was interrupted briefly when the crowd thought they had spoted “titushki,” government-hired thugs, creating disturbances. Ex-Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, also a former political prisoner like Tymoshenko spoke, and so did member of parliament and multimillionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko.

 

Freed ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko:

 

“My dears, when I came to Kyiv I could not recognize Kyiv - burnt cars, barricades, but this is free country that you have given us as a gift. When I came to Kyiv, the first thing I wanted to do is to go to Hrushevskoho Street and touch the barricades where Ukrainian boys and girls were first ready to give their lives for Ukraine.

“People who have been on Maidan and died here are heroes. Heroes will never die. They will always be with us. They will be our inspiration. Every official and every politician who will at least think of betraying you should see these boys in front of his eyes. 

“When snipers were shooting in the hearts of our guys, those are the bullets that will always wound us. If we do not take those (snipers) to court, we should be ashamed.

“We could put an end to this dictatorship once and for all. Remember that you are the guarantor of victory. You cannot leave Maidan before we do what we came here to do. You are the force that can guarantee that. You have earned this with your patriotism and courage.

“If somebody says that now you can leave, do not believe those people. You can't leave before everything is done."

 

 

“No one but you could have done that. When our guys were covering themselves with wooden shields, this is the nation and the people that cannot be put on their knees. No one will be building Mezhyhiryas again while you have to gather kopecks for sick children. You will not let that happen.

I was praying to be part of you. We have to do a few things: We have to take Yanukovych and all his goons to Maidan. If you could have changed Ukraine, you can do anything. You were not happy about the agreement with Yanukovych and it is not working now."

“When I saw AutoMaidan, I saw that we cannot be defeated. Many people are afraid to come to Maidan, they are looking for your protection. Not everyone has the strength to come to Maidan and sacrifice their lives. They are scared and you are their hope."

“We now have an open way to build Ukraine the way we want it. We know politicians are not trusted. Therefore we have to stand here till the end. You have deserved to run your own country. If government and parliament is composed without your participation, it will not be just."

“From this time on there will be a different Ukraine. I will be a guarantor that you are not betrayed. Politics is sometimes a big theater. I will be the guarantor that it is not that way. I am asking you to forgive me for all politicians regardless of political parties, positions. Politicians of today did not deserve you."
“My dear, I feel what situation that you have lived in all this time and I’m proud of you. The liberation of Ukraine will be followed by the democratization in other post-Soviet countries. We are on the right path. We will always be with you. We are one team. This revolution will be the beginning of changes in other post-Soviet countries. Now I will be doing everything so you would feel happy in your country. Glory to Ukraine!”

 

From Kyiv Post

 



 

Many more things I could mention, but all this information and more can be found on

 

http://www.kyivpost.com/hot/euromaidan

 

Please, please, continue to pray for Ukraine.  The new elections for President are set for May 25, 2014....but between now and then, we pray that Russia does not get involved with Ukrainian affairs. There is a large Russian population in eastern and southern Ukraine.  The Olympics in Sochi are not over till tomorrow, so if Russia does make a move, it will not be until the Olympics are over.  I will try to keep updates as I get them as comments on this blog post.

 

Pray for Ukraine!!!!

 

 

Please pray for those in Ukraine!

This will be just a summery of what is happening in Ukraine.  Back in November, Ukraine was given a chance to join the EU (European Union).  President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, decided to go with Russia instead.  The people in the western part of the country was outraged and started protesting in Kiev.  Some small protests in other cities, but mainly in Kiev.  Since then, it's been mostly just a stand off between police and the protesters.  At one point, President Yanukovych offered the opposition leaders (Yatsenyuk and boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko ) the position of Prime Minister and Asst. Prime Minister, but those positions were refused.  Many things have happened up to this point.  The last couple of days, at least 25 people have died, protesters and police. 

Last night, the President and the opposition leaders agreed on a cease fire.  But this morning, fighting started back up, and the death count, I believe is up in the forties.

Now all the banks are closing and people can not get their money....especially missionaries...they can't get to their support.  It's like snow days in the south....please don't ignore this situation because you have to much going on in your own life.  John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  And by this love, pray for the missionaries, the nationals, and the lost that are dying and going to hell....

Pray for PEACE in Ukraine!!

To get the latest information, click on link below...

http://www.kyivpost.com/hot/euromaidan

 EuroMaidan LIVE Streaming

Singing for our supper

We'll, not literally....  we were invited by one of our supporting churches to do all the special singing for their missions emphasis Sunday.  What an honor!!  There were two preachers preaching in the morning and evening services.  One brother from the Rock of Ages prison ministry, preached on not being a respecter of persons.  That was something the Lord has really impacted on my heart in the last year or so.  He was preaching primarily on race, but in my heart, I was thinking more along the lines of social standing inside and outside of the church.  Just like in the book of James, how he spoke of a man in rich apparel and one not dress so nice, and the rich sticking their noses up at he poor fellow.  I hate to say it, but that still happens a lot.  If your not part of the preacher's family or the deacons family, or have some "position of honor", your not worth socializing with.  That is so sad.  God is not respecter of persons and we should not be either!  The bible calls it sin!  James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.  Jesus said, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35  That's how lost people know that we are one of Christ's', is because we love the brethren, not respect the brethren because their not exactly like them.  God made us all different for HIS glory!!! 

Now, I will step down from off of my soap box.....lol.....

The day did not go off without a hitch though.  Nothing really bad, pretty humorous I think.  In the evening service, we were going to sing 2 songs before each preacher.  The pastors wife played the piano for the choir.  Now this piano is a fancy electric one.  It looks like a baby grand, but has all the fancy do dads that can make it do all kinds of things.  We'll anyway....she had transposed it 3 keys higher for the choir, and forgot to change it back.  So the first set of songs we sang was 3 keys higher than we were used to singing them.  Needless to say, Corey had a very hard time hitting those high tenor notes.  It took me till the second song before I really noticed there was something wrong (even though I did think the first song was little high).  I think the Lord was keeping us humble.... we all just laughed about it.... no reason for us to start throwing chickens :)

We did eat lunch in high style.  A precious couple from the church took the preachers and missionaries to the county country club for a buffet lunch.  The food was awesome!!! We had prime rib and sea bass with delicious cheesecake and ice cream for dessert!  We ate in the Heritage Room, which reminded me a lot of a old classic ball room with 3 large chandlers.